Pets

"Snake Salvation" pastor Cody Coots suffered a gnarly snakebite -- just like his preacher father who died from a rattler's bite -- but Coots' wife tells TMZ her husband survived by the grace of God.

The venomous canebrake rattler sank its fangs into Coots' finger on Monday as he was taking the snake out of a cage in his Middlesboro, KY church.

Cody's wife Brittany tells us ... her husband's hand swelled up pretty badly, but he refused to get medical treatment. She says the pain went away by Tuesday, and he seems to be fine now.

When Coots' father Jamie was bitten while preaching back in February he also refused treatment ... and died.

Brittany calls Cody's incident a miracle, telling us ... "Jesus saved Cody. The Lord spared his life."

Scrappy was so ornery ... we're told he would try to attack staff even when they tried to give him food and water.

A pantsless Lady Gaga took her new French Bulldog Asia for a stroll yesterday outside her Winnipeg, Manitoba hotel ... and seemed to have a hard time getting the cute pup to walk.

Hero Cat is on the attack again, but instead of a dog ... this time she's taking down a thong bearing her now famous nickname.

The owners of Tara -- aka Hero Cat -- tell us a friend of theirs opened a web store to help them capitalize on the national craze, but they had no idea the gear would include a thong with a paw right over the kitty zone.

Erica Triantafilo says she was shocked to see "Hero Cat" slapped on lingerie because she feels it's a bad example for kids -- so she went on a panty raid ... shutting down not only the thongs, but the whole online shop by Friday afternoon.

George W. Bush's Scottish terrier Miss Beazley was put to sleep Saturday ... after doctors said the cancer she had been fighting finally got the best of her.

Bush's office announced the death this afternoon ... saying the dog was a "source of joy" for the family during the ex-Prez's time in Washington and Dallas.

Bush gave the dog to his wife Laura as a birthday present while he was in office ... and M.B. was featured in a video the White House made in '05 called, "A Very Beazley Christmas."

Miss Beazley was almost 10.

12:10 PM PT -- Tara's owners were just on TMZ Live ... and explained why they're not suing their neighbors. They also talked about Jeremy's recovery from the attack.

You gotta see the kid ... he's cute as hell.

The owners of the dog that mauled the boy who was miraculously saved by his cat have just gotten away with metaphorical murder ... because they'll have to pay next to nothing and they've dodged a lawsuit.

Erica and Roger Triantafilo tell TMZ ... their insurance will cover almost the entire medical bill, so the only thing they want from the dog owners is the deductible -- $155!!!

The attack -- now seen 'round the world -- could have turned into a wrongful death case were it not for the pet cat, Tara, which chased the dog away. As it stands, the injuries little Jeremy suffered were serious. And Erica tells us ... she too was bit on the leg as she tried to save her son.

Erica says her family is not looking to punish their neighbors. In fact, she says they're still friends.

As for the dog ... it will be destroyed.

Bullet dodged.

Hero Cat's bravery while saving that little boy made her an instant celebrity ... and now she's wanted for magazines, award shows, and much more.

Just hope HC doesn't go the Farrah Abraham route -- that kitty porn industry's a bitch. MEOW.

Hero Cat -- the feline who fought off a ferocious dog to protect a child -- is gettin' called up to the minors ... and will THROW OUT the first pitch at a minor league baseball game next week ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Bakersfield Blaze -- the Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds -- has reached out to the cat's people hoping to get Tara (that's her name) to make the ceremonial first pitch at a game next week.

A rep for the team tells us ... the owner of the cat ACCEPTED THE OFFER ... and Tara (along with the boy she saved) will take the mound to throw out the first pitch on May 20th.

Unclear who will actually throw the ball (hopefully the cat!!) ... but we'll be sure to post the footage as soon as it goes down.

Congrats!

Hero Cat is suddenly the Kate Upton of the pet world -- getting offers to appear on magazine covers and receive some fancy awards ... TMZ has learned.

Hero -- real name Tara -- became an Internet superstar thanks to that awesome video of her rescuing her owner's young boy from a vicious dog attack ... and now Cat Fancy (aka feline Vogue) wants a piece of her.

A rep for Cat Fancy mag tells us they desperately want Tara on an upcoming cover -- and they're even sweetening the offer ... to let her owners write an article to go with the photo spread.

And there's this ... Cat Fanciers' Association says it plans to present Tara with its first-ever Cat Hero Award at its upcoming awards show. Tara's owners haven't respond to either offer yet.

11:34 AM PT -- We're told the dog was picked up Tuesday by animal control -- in an extremely aggressive state -- and a decision has been made to euthanize the animal.

Let's be honest, most cats don't do squat, but this feline from Bakersfield,CA is the exception ... after it ran to the aid of a young boy being attacked by a dog ... and scared the vicious animal away. MEOW!!!!

Check out this surveillance video from Tuesday afternoon ... you can see the boy riding his bike in front of the home when the dog comes around from behind an SUV and drags the boy off his tricycle by his leg.

The dog wrestles with the boy's leg for just a few moments until the HERO CAT comes flying in ... knocking the dog off the boy before chasing the canine away.

The boy's parents say he needed a few stitches after the attack (you can see his injuries below) but overall, he's doing fine. According to local reports, the dog belonged to a neighbor and is now under investigation.

Tyga decided to go HUGE for his latest music video -- hiring a 45-year old elephant for a cameo ... which was a great idea up until she peed and turned Hollywood into Niagara Falls.

But when working with animals ya gotta remember -- #1 is only half as bad as #2!

All dogs go to Heaven ... and now one more rambunctious canine has checked into the big puppy bowl in the sky -- Tyler the Swamp dog.

Tyler's owner Janet Mitchell -- "Swamp People" star Bruce Mitchell's wife -- says the dog's heart gave out around 1 am Monday morning after a 3-year battle with congestive heart failure.

Bruce buried the swamp dog in his yard not long after ... alongside other deceased pets.

Hug your loved ones for Tyler and eat a zebra cake.

Tyga's pet tiger has just been ripped from his clutches -- after authorities claimed the rapper was illegally in possession of the exotic animal ... and now Tyga could face criminal charges.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, California Wildlife officers received a report last week that a tiger was housed at Tyga's home in Ventura County.

We're told a warden responded to the home -- and Tyga told him he had removed the cat from the house (presumably due to complaints) and placed it at a private animal shelter.

It's unclear how long Tyga's had the cat -- but he began posting photos of the tiger on Instagram last month.

According to law enforcement, Wildlife officers picked up the 7-month-old cat at the shelter and transferred it to a state facility for safekeeping ... while they investigate.

We're told Tyga could face misdemeanor charges of possession of a prohibited species ... punishable by up to six months in jail.

Worth noting, we're told Tyga took good care of the tiger. Sources close to Tyga tell us, the rapper didn't realize it was illegal to own ... and as soon as he realized, he gave it to a sanctuary.

The Alanis Morissette dognapping saga is OVER ... TMZ has learned the rocker's prized pup has been returned to her.

As TMZ first reported, Morissette sued her old housekeeper claiming the woman stole her dog -- a 10 lb Chihuahua/Pug mix named Circus -- after Alanis fired her.

The housekeeper claimed Alanis hated the dog and wanted her gone.

But isn't it ironic ... today in court, Alanis' attorney dropped the suit because Circus is now safe and sound back at the home of Alanis and her hubby, Mario Treadway.

It figures.

Miley Cyrus may have been rushed to the hospital because of a bad reaction to antibiotics, but we're told the reason she was on the meds was because she wore herself down by hard partying and an emotional meltdown over the death of her dog.

Sources connected to Miley tell TMZ ... she has been "an emotional mess" since her dog Floyd died earlier this month. We're told she had crying fits and has been unable to sleep.

Our sources say Miley's escape has been partying ... as one person said, "She's been off the rails since this happened." We're told she's been drinking a lot and drugs are also involved.

We're told Miley was on meds because she got sick from being extremely worn down.

Everything's connected to everything.

We reached out to Miley's rep ... so far no word back.

Miley Cyrus is canceling yet another concert following her hospitalization Tuesday after a severe allergic reaction to medicine.

Miley took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to announce the cancellation herself, saying, "the hospital is sayin i wont b released today therefore Im not going 2 make it 2 St Louis. Im so sorry but somethings are outta my control."

As TMZ first reported, part of the reason for Miley's hospitalization was the fact she has been "off the rails" since the death of her beloved dog Floyd earlier this month.